System, device, and method for positioning

Abstract

A method for positional analysis, comprising the steps of: receiving, from a user device, location information indicating a location of the user device; identifying a location of at least one reference target; determining at least one intended location of the user device by applying a structure model to the location of the, or each, reference target; determining a difference between the, or each, intended location and the location of the user device; determining a first result indicating whether the difference meets a threshold distance of a predefined threshold rule; determining a second result indicating whether the predefined threshold rule is satisfied based at least in part on the first result; and in response, communicating an instruction to the user device indicating that the predefined threshold rule is satisfied, and associated system and device.

1 .- 56  (canceled) 
     
     
         57 . A method for positional analysis, comprising:
 receiving, from a user device, location information indicating a location of the user device;   identifying a location of at least one reference target;   determining at least one intended location of the user device by applying a structure model to the location of the, or each, reference target;   determining a difference between the, or each, intended location and the location of the user device;   determining a first result indicating whether the difference meets a threshold distance of a predefined threshold rule;   determining a second result indicating whether the predefined threshold rule is satisfied based at least in part on the first result; and   in response, communicating an instruction to the user device indicating that the predefined threshold rule is satisfied.   
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 57 , comprising:
 determining that the intended location is outside of a boundary; and   applying a correction to the intended location, wherein the corrected intended location is within the boundary or the corrected intended location is not within a threshold distance of the boundary.   
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the intended location is determined according to a team coordinate system and comprising the step of transforming the intended location to a field coordinate system in order to compare the intended location to the location of the user device. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein the team coordinate system is:
 moveable with respect to one axis of the field coordinate system with fixed orientation;   moveable with respect to two axes of the field coordinate system with fixed orientation; or   moveable with respect to two axes of the field coordinate system with variable orientation.   
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein the team coordinate system is moveable with respect to two axes of the field coordinate system with variable orientation, the method comprising:
 calculating a transformation between the team coordinate system and the field coordinate system based on, at least in part, a current position of at least one reference target with respect to at least one stationary target and/or at least one other user device in the field coordinate system.   
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 61 , wherein the transformation includes a scaling factor determined in accordance with the current position of the at least one reference target with respect to the at least one stationary target and/or the at least one other user device in the field coordinate system. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the method is implemented by a server, wherein the server communicates with the user device via a base station, the method comprising:
 receiving, at the server, a user input corresponding to a selection of the structure model for determining the intended location.   
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein a reference target is a movable target comprising a beacon device configured to emit a beacon signal, the method comprising:
 receiving a signal strength measurement from each of one or more user devices, wherein the signal strength measurement is a measurement based on a received beacon signal received by the user device(s);   associating one of the user devices with the reference target based on the signal strength measurements; and   determining the reference target location to be the current location of the associated user device.   
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the threshold rule corresponds to either: the difference being within a predefined value; or the difference being outside of a predefined value. 
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the user device is configured to vibrate and/or emit an audible signal in response to receiving the instruction. 
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 57 , comprising:
 defining the location of a boundary by recording the location of a user device as it is moved around the boundary.   
     
     
         68 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the structure model is configured to calculate the intended location relative to the location of at least one reference target. 
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 57 , comprising:
 determining a player proximity rule defining an intended number of user devices for the intended location;   upon determining the first result indicating the user device is at one of a plurality of intended locations, determining a number of other user devices at the one determined intended location; and   determining a third result indicating that the player proximity rule is satisfied according to the number of other user devices at the intended location.   
     
     
         70 . A method for positional analysis, comprising:
 receiving, from a plurality of user devices, location information indicating a location of each user device;   identifying a location of at least one reference target;   determining at least one intended location of each user device by applying a structure model to the location of the, or each, reference target;   for each user device, determining a difference between the, or each, intended location and the location of the user device;   for each user device, determining a result indicating whether the difference meets a threshold distance of a predefined threshold rule;   for each user device, determining a second result indicating whether the predefined threshold rule is satisfied based at least in part on the first result; and   for each user device meeting the threshold rule, communicating an instruction to the user device indicating that the predefined threshold rule is satisfied.   
     
     
         71 . A system for positional analysis, comprising:
 one or more user devices, each comprising a stimulus module configured to, when activated, provide a recognizable stimulus to a wearer of the user device; and   a server,   wherein the one or more user devices are each configured for two-way communication with the server,   wherein the server is configured to:
 receive location information indicating a location of a particular user device; 
 identify a location of at least one reference target; 
 determine at least one intended location of the particular user device by applying a structure model to the location of the, or each, reference target; 
 determine a difference between the, or each, intended location and the location of the particular user device; 
 determine a first result indicating whether the difference meets a threshold distance of a predefined threshold rule; 
 determine a second result indicating whether the predefined threshold rule is satisfied based at least in part on the first result; and 
 in response, communicating an instruction to the particular user device indicating that the predefined threshold rule is satisfied, and 
   wherein the, or each, user device is configured to:
 determine a current location of the user device; 
 communicate location information indicating its location to the server; 
 in response to receiving an instruction to activate a stimulus from the server, activate the stimulus module. 
   
     
     
         72 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein the server is configured to:
 determine that the intended location is outside of a boundary; and   apply a correction to the intended location, wherein the corrected intended location is within the boundary or the corrected intended location is not within a threshold distance of the boundary.   
     
     
         73 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein the intended location is determined according to a team coordinate system and wherein the server is configured to: transform the intended location to a field coordinate system in order to compare the intended location to the location of the user device. 
     
     
         74 . The system of  claim 73 , wherein the team coordinate system is:
 moveable with respect to one axis of the field coordinate system with fixed orientation;   moveable with respect to two axes of the field coordinate system with fixed orientation; or   moveable with respect to two axes of the field coordinate system with variable orientation.   
     
     
         75 . The system of  claim 73 , wherein the team coordinate system is moveable with respect to two axes of the field coordinate system with variable orientation, and wherein the server is configured to: calculate a transformation between the team coordinate system and the field coordinate system based on, at least in part, a current position of at least one reference target with respect to at least one stationary target and/or at least one other user device in the field coordinate system. 
     
     
         76 . The system of  claim 75 , wherein the transformation includes a scaling factor determined by the server in accordance with the current position of the at least one reference target with respect to the at least one stationary target and/or the at least one other user device in the field coordinate system. 
     
     
         77 . The system of  claim 71 , comprising a base station, wherein the server communicates with the user devices via a base station, and wherein the server is configured to: receive a user input corresponding to a selection of the structure model for determining the intended location. 
     
     
         78 . The system of  claim 77 , wherein the structure model is selected from a group of selectable structure models stored in a memory of the server and/or wherein the structure model is created by the user and then selected. 
     
     
         79 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein a reference target is a movable target, the system comprising:
 a locator device affixed to the movable target and configured to communicate location information indicating its position to the server, such that the server identifies the location of the movable target based on the received location information.   
     
     
         80 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein a reference target is a moveable target, the system comprising:
 a beacon device affixed to the movable target configured to intermittently or periodically emit a beacon signal,   and wherein each user device is configured to, upon detecting the beacon signal, determine a signal strength of the detected beacon signal and to communicate the signal strength to the server, and   wherein the server is configured to:
 receive the signal strength measurement(s) from one or more of the user devices; 
 associate one of the user devices with the reference target based on the signal strength measurements; and 
 determine the reference target location to be the current location of the associated user device. 
   
     
     
         81 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein the threshold rule corresponds to either: the difference being within a predefined value; or the difference being outside of a predefined value. 
     
     
         82 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein one intended location is determined for each user device. 
     
     
         83 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein the server is configured to:
 determine a player proximity rule defining an intended number of user devices for the intended location;   upon determining the first result indicating the user device is at one of a plurality of intended locations, determine a number of other user devices at the one determined intended location; and   determine a third result indicating that the player proximity rule is satisfied according to the number of other user devices at the intended location.   
     
     
         84 . A system for positional analysis, comprising:
 one or more user devices, each comprising a stimulus module configured to, when activated, provide a recognizable stimulus to a wearer of the user device; and   a server,   wherein the one or more user devices are each configured for two-way communication with the server,   wherein the server is configured to:
 receive location information indicating a location of at least one of the one or more user devices; 
 identify a location of at least one reference target; 
 determine at least one intended location of the at least one user device by applying a structure model to the location of the, or each, reference target; 
 determine a difference between the, or each, intended location and the location of the, or each of the at least one, user device; 
 determine a first result, for each of the at least one user device, indicating whether the difference meets a threshold distance of a predefined threshold rule; 
 determine a second result indicating whether the predefined threshold rule is satisfied based at least in part on the first result; and 
 in response, for each instance of the predefined threshold rule being satisfied, communicate an instruction to the associated user device indicating that the difference meets the predefined threshold rule, and 
   wherein the, or each, user device is configured to:
 determine a current location of the user device; 
 communicate location information indicating its location to the server; 
 in response to receiving an instruction from the server, activate its stimulus module.